Qiao Qingyan walked out slowly and stood across from him.
“Who told you to follow me? What do you want?”
The man pulled a document envelope sealed with a red stamp from his canvas bag.
The edges of the paper envelope were a bit worn, but the seal was intact, the red stamp clearly visible.
“My name is Qin Shuyan. I wrote to you before. I went to your factory to ask where you lived, and they told me you were in this village. Coincidentally, I have some official business nearby, so I wanted to ask if you could point me in the right direction.”
Qin Shuyan?
Hearing that name, Qiao Qingyan’s heart skipped a beat.
She quickly sized him up—from his face to his clothes to the way he spoke and carried himself.
After confirming he was who he said he was, she still shot back in an unfriendly tone.
“Since when does conducting business require sneaking around following someone?”
“Pure coincidence.”
He held the document envelope out a little closer, his movements restrained.
“It’s official business. If you don’t believe me, I can show you my credentials.”
Qiao Qingyan saw that his expression was steady, with no trace of panic. Her brow relaxed slightly, and the tension in her chest eased just a little.
She thought for a moment with a cold face, her gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds before sweeping over the document envelope in his hand.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them walked in silence.
One led in front, the other followed behind, neither saying a word.
Just as they reached the big locust tree at the village entrance, a group of people came charging at them with menacing looks.
Qiao Rongkang, running at the front, thrust his finger right up to Qiao Qingyan’s nose and started cursing.
“Qiao Qingyan! You liar! You said you wouldn’t sell the job, but you turned around and pocketed the money? Did you secretly make a deal with that thousand yuan?!”
Before he even finished speaking, Qiao Rongze had already lunged forward and grabbed her wrist in a death grip.
“Where’s the money? The money from selling the job! Hand it over! Now!”
Qiao Qingyan felt a wave of nausea rise in her stomach. She yanked her arm hard, breaking free from his grip, and coldly tossed out a single line.
“Already spent.”
The red mark left on her wrist by his grip throbbed faintly.
She didn’t look down at it, just pulled her sleeve over it.
The whole scene went silent.
The air was so heavy it was almost suffocating.
“Spent… spent?”
Qiao Rongkang suppressed his fury and stepped forward.
“Don’t you play dumb with me! That thousand yuan—where did you bury it? Where did you hide it? Or did you give it to someone?”
“I didn’t hide it.”
She met his gaze without flinching.
“I had someone arrange a job for Rongze. It all went into that.”
She lowered her eyes after speaking, staring at the cracked concrete at her feet.
Those words hit like a thunderbolt.
A thousand yuan was no small sum!
Enough for the whole family to live frugally for over half a year.
And now, it was spent just like that—spent to secure a way forward for Qiao Rongze.
Qiao Rongze stood there stunned.
Arranging a job?
For him?
He stared at Qiao Qingyan, mouth slightly open, emotions churning across his face.
That hollow feeling rose from deep inside him.
Mixed with guilt and a hint of something he himself hadn’t even realized—gratitude.
Qiao Rongkang didn’t believe a word of it. His voice shot up.
“A thousand yuan! What right did you have to spend that money on your own? Who gave you the nerve? You go get that money back right now!”
“Brother, that’s not fair!”
Qiao Rongze immediately took offense, sticking his neck out to fire back.
“Do you know how important a job is? Once you have a steady income, is it really a problem to earn back that thousand? Once I get a foothold, I can even find an easy position for Sister Wanwan!”
That thousand yuan wasn’t spent—it was an investment.
He’d perform well at his new post, fight for a permanent position, and then find a way to bring relatives and friends into the factory.
He wasn’t about to pass this up—he’d grab the benefits from both sides!
Bai Wanwan stood nearby listening, gently tugging at Qiao Rongkang’s sleeve. Her eyes reddened again, and she spoke in a soft, coaxing voice: “Rongze isn’t wrong… a job really is important… Sister Qingyan probably did this with Rongze’s best interests in mind.”
Just as she finished speaking, a lazy voice suddenly drifted over from the roadside.
“What’s all the shouting about? Can hear you hollering three streets away.”
The figure leaned against the wall and ambled over slowly.
A stalk of dogtail grass dangled from his hand, and as he walked, he bit down on one end, spitting out the leaves with a mumble.
It was Qiao Rongwei, strolling over at a leisurely pace, still chewing on a stalk of dogtail grass.
After hearing the whole story, his eyes went wide as saucers.
He’d been wandering along the field ridges just now and happened to pass by the village entrance on his way home for a drink of water.
He hadn’t expected to walk in on such a loud argument.
He got closer and listened—it was about that thousand yuan.
A thousand yuan?
Qiao Qingyan had actually gotten her hands on a thousand yuan!
He rushed forward two steps at a time, shoving Qiao Rongze aside, and stared straight at Qiao Qingyan, reaching out to grab her.
“Big Sister! Don’t listen to them! Give the money to me! I guarantee I’ll double it in six months—no, ten times over, no problem!”
His mind kept flashing through fragments from his past life.
Those years when someone hauled a cart of soap and made three years’ wages, when someone snuck down south and brought back electronic watches that sold for twenty times the price.
Time waits for no one, and neither do opportunities.
He remembered his past life’s memories clearly.
He knew exactly where the money was to be made in the next few years!
What was a measly position at a state-owned unit worth?
Once he made his fortune, he could arrange jobs for the whole family!
Qiao Rongkang slapped his hand away, his face stretched long with displeasure.
“Qiao Rongwei, have you lost your mind? Doing business? What do you even know about that? That’s profiteering—if you get caught, you’ll be thrown in jail! Our family can’t afford any more trouble!”
“What the hell do you know?”
Qiao Rongwei exploded on the spot, his temper flaring straight up.
“Just because you served two years in the army, you think you’re something special? Stiff and rigid! I’m trying to carve out a way forward for this whole family! Once I make my fortune, every one of you will be living the good life right along with me!”
“You’re gambling with the lives of this entire family!”
Qiao Rongkang roared back, stepping forward with his shoulders tensed.
He knew that once Qiao Rongwei started his reckless schemes, the whole family would be dragged into the fallout.
“You just have it out for me—pure jealousy!”
Qiao Rongwei sneered, his eyes dripping with contempt.
He knew this attitude all too well.
The poorer people were, the more they feared others improving themselves.
The more useless they were, the more they loved blocking others from breaking free.
The two brothers argued louder and louder beneath the big locust tree at the village entrance, faces flushed red, fists nearly raised against each other.
Bai Wanwan rushed over to intervene.
“Rongkang, Rongwei, stop fighting! Can’t you just sit down and talk it out?”
She knew that once these two brothers dug in their heels, no one could hold them back.
But no matter how stubborn they were, they couldn’t start throwing punches at the village entrance.
In the chaos, someone shoved.
Her foot slipped, and her whole body lurched backward.
Her back found empty air, her center of gravity lost, and she began to topple.
Before the gasps around her had even fully risen, her head was about to slam into the stone edge.
Just as she was about to hit the ground—
Qiao Rongwei shoved Qiao Rongkang aside, lunged forward in a single stride, and swept her into his arms.
But he couldn’t stop his own momentum, and his face slammed hard against the rough bark of the locust tree!
The bark was cracked and jagged, and his brow bone struck it directly.
A searing pain exploded instantly.
His nose stung, his vision went dark, and his ears rang with a dull buzz.
“Ow!”
He let out a pained cry, covering his eyes and crouching to the ground.
Blood poured out from between his fingers.
The warm liquid streamed down his cheek, dripping onto his collar and spreading into a dark stain.
“Rongwei!”
“Second Brother!”
Qiao Dehai and Qiao Rongkang shouted at the same time.
All traces of anger on their faces vanished, replaced by sheer panic.
One grabbed his shoulder, the other supported his waist, frantically trying to hoist him up.
The scene erupted into chaos.
Bai Wanwan knelt beside him, her hands trembling, sobbing and crying out: “Rongwei, are you okay? It’s all my fault, all my fault…”
Qiao Qingyan stood quietly, watching it all with cold eyes.
She had long since grown numb to it all—whether anyone in this family was good or bad, alive or hurt.
None of it carried any weight for her anymore.
There was only one thought in her mind now.
She had to live for herself, for once.